JCAHO's Focus on Healthcare-associated Infections
Increasing attention on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) has prompted JCAHO to review infection reports related to its sentinel event database. Since the database's 1996 implementation, JCAHO has received only 10 infection-related reports for review under its sentinel event policy. Its belief is that HAI sentinel events are underreported, so the agency released a national patient safety goal for 2004 that addresses HAI risk, says Judene Bartley, MS, MPH, CIC, a clinical consultant for the Premier Safety Institute. Here's a summary of the standards related to the new goal, which takes effect in January 2005.